Foreword
vii
I recently learned that the United States government was actually trying to strip God out of a private homeless shelter for previously incarcerated women struggling in Colorado. Thatâs right, Marilyn Vyzourek, the woman who runs an organization called Gospel Shelters for Women, was told that she could no longer offer Bible studies at her shelter. Why did they have that ability? Because our government, which happily funds all kinds of programs championed by the secular left, decided that the shelterâs acceptance of two $25,000 federal grants made them subservient to their will.
Itâs not surprising. In fact, itâs just the latest in a decades-old attempt by progressive secularists to keep religion entirely separate from the government. Everyone knows thatâs just what Thomas Jefferson intended when he penned the words âseparation of church and state,â right?
Well, not quite.
My friend, historian David Barton, takes on this long-held falsehood about the separation of church and state and proves once and for all that our Founding Father was no secularist. Not even close. Did you know, for instance, that when Jefferson was president in 1800 he helped start church services inside the US Capitol? Those services grew to include more than two thousand people attending each week, and it became one of the biggest churches in America at the time.
And thatâs just the beginning.
viii
Why does the Left continue to misquote Jefferson, accuse him of being anti-God, and attribute evil deeds to him? Because they know that if they are able to discredit and dismiss Jefferson and our other Founders, then we are that much closer to surrendering our birthright and our natural freedoms. These myths have flourished in our educational institutions in recent years and have become accepted as truth. Itâs a poison in our nationâs system that can only be flushed out by light and truth.
There are three things Iâve learned from Thomas Jefferson and have tried hard to apply in my own life: (1) Question with boldness, (2) Hold to the truth, and (3) Speak without fear. In The Jefferson Lies , David Barton boldly questions the myths about Jefferson and arms you with the well-researched truth. I ask you to read it, learn from it, and then to go speak without fear.
Oh, by the way, Marilyn Vyzourek refused to back down from the governmentâs demands. The government may have stripped her of federal money, but that would not be the end of Gospel Shelters for Women. When I heard about her story I decided to replace the money theyâd lost with a personal contribution. After all, sometimes questioning with boldness involves more than just words; it requires action.
I like to think Thomas Jefferson would have smiled just a little if he were still around.
G LENN B ECK
Editorsâ Notes
ix
M any early American historical quotes have been used in this bookâquotes made at a time when grammatical usage and spelling were quite different from what is practiced today. In an effort to improve readability and flow, we have modernized all spellings and puncuations in the historical quotes used throughout this work, leaving the historical content unimpaired.
As an example of the very different colonial spelling of words, consider the opening language of the Pilgrimsâ Mayflower Compact of 1620 (the words misspelled by todayâs standards are underlined):
We whose names are underwriten , the loyall subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britaine , Franc , & Ireland king, defender of the faith, &c., haveing undertaken, for the glorie of God, and advancemente of the Christian faith, and honour of our king & countrie , a voyage to plant the first colonie in the Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these presents solemnly & mutualy in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant & combine our selves togeather into a civill body politick
vii
I recently learned that the United States government was actually trying to strip God out of a private homeless shelter for previously incarcerated women struggling in Colorado. Thatâs right, Marilyn Vyzourek, the woman who runs an organization called Gospel Shelters for Women, was told that she could no longer offer Bible studies at her shelter. Why did they have that ability? Because our government, which happily funds all kinds of programs championed by the secular left, decided that the shelterâs acceptance of two $25,000 federal grants made them subservient to their will.
Itâs not surprising. In fact, itâs just the latest in a decades-old attempt by progressive secularists to keep religion entirely separate from the government. Everyone knows thatâs just what Thomas Jefferson intended when he penned the words âseparation of church and state,â right?
Well, not quite.
My friend, historian David Barton, takes on this long-held falsehood about the separation of church and state and proves once and for all that our Founding Father was no secularist. Not even close. Did you know, for instance, that when Jefferson was president in 1800 he helped start church services inside the US Capitol? Those services grew to include more than two thousand people attending each week, and it became one of the biggest churches in America at the time.
And thatâs just the beginning.
viii
Why does the Left continue to misquote Jefferson, accuse him of being anti-God, and attribute evil deeds to him? Because they know that if they are able to discredit and dismiss Jefferson and our other Founders, then we are that much closer to surrendering our birthright and our natural freedoms. These myths have flourished in our educational institutions in recent years and have become accepted as truth. Itâs a poison in our nationâs system that can only be flushed out by light and truth.
There are three things Iâve learned from Thomas Jefferson and have tried hard to apply in my own life: (1) Question with boldness, (2) Hold to the truth, and (3) Speak without fear. In The Jefferson Lies , David Barton boldly questions the myths about Jefferson and arms you with the well-researched truth. I ask you to read it, learn from it, and then to go speak without fear.
Oh, by the way, Marilyn Vyzourek refused to back down from the governmentâs demands. The government may have stripped her of federal money, but that would not be the end of Gospel Shelters for Women. When I heard about her story I decided to replace the money theyâd lost with a personal contribution. After all, sometimes questioning with boldness involves more than just words; it requires action.
I like to think Thomas Jefferson would have smiled just a little if he were still around.
G LENN B ECK
Editorsâ Notes
ix
M any early American historical quotes have been used in this bookâquotes made at a time when grammatical usage and spelling were quite different from what is practiced today. In an effort to improve readability and flow, we have modernized all spellings and puncuations in the historical quotes used throughout this work, leaving the historical content unimpaired.
As an example of the very different colonial spelling of words, consider the opening language of the Pilgrimsâ Mayflower Compact of 1620 (the words misspelled by todayâs standards are underlined):
We whose names are underwriten , the loyall subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britaine , Franc , & Ireland king, defender of the faith, &c., haveing undertaken, for the glorie of God, and advancemente of the Christian faith, and honour of our king & countrie , a voyage to plant the first colonie in the Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these presents solemnly & mutualy in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant & combine our selves togeather into a civill body politick
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